


Perfect Broken

by Ruquas



Category: Leverage
Genre: Abusive Relationships, Domestic Violence, Hurt Eliot Spencer, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Rape
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-03-04
Updated: 2015-03-04
Packaged: 2018-03-16 08:11:48
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Rape/Non-Con
Chapters: 3
Words: 19,320
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3480818
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ruquas/pseuds/Ruquas
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Nathan didn't like the look on Eliot's face, neither he liked Eliot's change in behaviour. And the least thing he likes were the bruises that turned up on Eliot. But when Eliot disappears, Nathan is angry. At himself, at Eliot and most of all at this scum that called himself Eliot's boyfriend.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

Thoughtful, Nathan watched Eliot cooking. There was something different with Eliot's  
behaviour. Something strange, but nothing too obvious. It has been like that for a while. Eliot  
was always been good at hiding things, at hiding feelings, but there was still something there.  
He just couldn't put a finger on it. Sometimes it was the way Eliot moved, somtimes the way  
he talked. Sometimes, just on rare occasions, Eliot tried to hide behind his hair when he got a  
compliment. Maybe that was just imagination. It was something Nathan couldn't really put a  
finger on.

Suddenly, a plate with food appeared out of nowhere in front of him. "Everything alright with  
you?" Eliot asked while he got a plate for himself. He wasn't as generous with his own helping  
as with Nathan's. If Eliot wasn‘t Eliot, the suspicion in Nathan's head would make sense. The  
bruises on his wrists and sometimes on his face that the younger man tried to hide. The  
haunted look in Eliot's eyes when someone startled him, the way he winced at raised voices.  
Nate knew this behaviour only from women and he always hated it. Even the thought of Eliot  
being a victim of domestic violence sounded crazy to his mind. Eliot was a fighter. He would  
never let anyone beat him willingly. Nathan had to chuckle over his own silliness. "Yes, Eliot.  
Everything is okay. It smells delicious. Thank you."

Smiling, Eliot opened the door. Even though he would never admit it, he had fun this evening.  
It was not very often that he and Nathan ate alone and he liked it. Sometimes he could even  
imaging that it was a date, even though it would never be something like that. He had a  
relationship. A normal relationship outside his job. Outside his team. The last time he had a  
relationship outside his job and his team had been Aimee. And, well, that didn't end very well.  
But now it could work. Jeff was a nice man and they worked. As strange as it was to be in a  
relationship, it was nice. Suddenly, there was a loud noise like shattering porcelain. He  
swallowed. The only problem in their relationship was Eliot himself. He knew that he always  
fucked up every relationship and he was afraid that he would damage this one too. No, that  
was wrong, he had already done some damage to their relationship but Jeff was willing to help  
him to fix the damage. "Why the hell are you so late? Again?"Jeff questioned as he appeared in  
the door frame to the kitchen. Eliot smiled even though it felt a bit forced. He never wanted to  
make Jeff angry and Jeff knew that. "I cooked with a collegue. I sometimes tell you about him,  
Nathan. I am sorry, I should have called. “Eliot said and hoped that Jeff would forgive him.  
After all, he should have called. It was his own fault Jeff was angry now.

Jeff sighed, smiled sadly and made his way over to Eliot before he stroked the hitter's hair. "I  
know. But I know that you just forgot. I'm not mad about it." Jeff said and tightened his hand  
in Eliot's hair, painfully. "But you know that I hate it how you‘re flirting with other men. As if  
you did not want me to be your boyfriend but some other bloke!" Now Jeff was angry. Eliot  
tried to shake his head. "No, I swear, I wasn't flirting. I promise, I'm not going to do it again,  
okay? We just had a nice dinner and..." He felt the hit before he could see it. Jeff wasn't smiling  
anymore. "So, you just didn't flirt with this man but had dinner with him? Care to explain?"  
Eliot swallowed and shook his head. "I'm... I'm sorry, really. It's never going to happen again  
but I know a way to make it up to you." Eliot smiled and put an arm around Jeff's neck before  
he began to nibble on it. He sighed when Jeff chuckled and pushed him slightly toward the  
bedroom. Jeff had forgven him and if it meant that Jeff was a bit rough that night it didn't  
matter. At least he had not blown up his relationship.

When Hardison came into the office he noticed two things. Parker was hanging from the  
ceiling watering her plant, talking and cooing to it. It was Parker after all. The second thing he  
noticed was that Eliot wasn't in the kitchen like he usually was. He wasn't next to Parker to  
watch her with his sad smile either. "Hey, has anyone seen Eliot?" he asked as he put his bag  
next to his computer. Sophie shrugged and Parker didn't answer. "The last time I saw him was  
yesterday evening. Why?" Nate called from above. Hardison hesitated. It wasn't like Eliot to  
just be..., well, late. Maybe he should check the older man's GPS just in case but then Eliot was  
a grown man and he would kill him if he ever found out that Hardison could track him within  
minutes if it was necessary.

Lost in his thoughts, he didn't see the door open nor Eliot, who was limping in, before he  
bumped right into him. Eliot hissed and Hardison's hands shot up in surrender. "Hey man,  
sorry. Didn't see you. Must've been a wild night for...." he began but stopped when he actually  
did take in Eliot. His face was slightly bruised and his lip was split. He held himelf as if he was  
in pain. "Whoa. I don't want to see the other guy. He must look like a train hit him." Eliot  
looked at him with a strange look in his eyes before he smirked "Yeah, most stupid thing he  
ever did.“ Eliot mumbled and limped over to the kitchen counter. Hardison looked after him  
before looking up. "Forget it, he's already here Nate." Hardison didn't see Eliot wincing nor  
did he see the murderous look in Nathan‘s eyes that he threw toward Eliot.

Nathan had to bite his lips to keep himself from growling. Eliot would never get into a barfight  
which would get that bad. The last time he saw Eliot beaten that severely it was in Belize in  
2003\. Eliot and Nathan were on different jobs so he never told anyone that he saw the hitter  
there one night, badly bruised. Eliot had looked like he couldn't stand on his own, with two  
swollen eyes, his lips bloody, holding his right arm at a strange angle that hurt Nathan just  
looking at it. That was the only time he could remember Eliot ever looking that bad but that  
was on a job. A really dangerous one but a job. They‘re in Portland now, though. There wasn't  
anything dangerous here that could hurt Eliot that badly. A broken rib, a bloody nose,  
something like that happened on jobs, even to Eliot but nothing like what he was seeing now.  
It almost looked like Eliot hadn‘t even tried to defend himself, as if he let someone beat him  
into a bloody pulp. That couldn't be though. That was not like something Eliot would do,  
would he? Maybe, just maybe, there was really something to the theory he had yesterday, but  
that was ridiculous.

"Hey Eliot. You look pretty bad." Nathan said while walking down to help himself to a drink.  
Eliot smirked but it looked wrong. Out of place. "A friend and I went to a bar and we got in a  
fight." he said still smirking until he realised how that sounded. His smirk fell and also a  
shadow fell over his eyes. "I mean, a few guys got the wrong idea, but it didn't end well for  
them." he added hastily. Nathan nodded but it was hard to believe him. If he thought about it,  
the only thing that he could believe, truly believe, was that Eliot had been with a "friend"  
yesterday evening. "Ah, I see." Nathan grumbled and swallowed his drink down. He knew that  
the younger man was lying and he knew that he probably would get a lot more lies. He knew  
how these kinds of things went. These kinds of relationships. He didn't like that Eliot could be  
in one of those relationships. Could he be the victim in this kind of relationship? With horror  
Nathan realised that he probably could accept it more easily if Eliot was the abuser in a  
relationship. It would be more fitting for Eliot's behaviour, even though Nathan was ashamed  
to admit that he thought that. He and Eliot should definitely talk later.

There was it again. The strange feeling he‘d had all day long. It was as if he was being  
watched by someone. He probably was being watched. His feelings had never had betrayed  
him in that. Eliot knew that Nathan was watching him. That freaked him out. There should  
be no reason to watch every step he made. That wasn't good. He told a reasonable lie, a  
reasonable background story. He couldn't see a reason why Nathan shouldn't believe it but  
then it was Nathan after all. The man was a genius. A drunken genius but still a genius.  
Maybe that was the problem. It would never matter what Eliot told Nathan. Sooner or later  
Nathan would see right through him. Through him and his lies and he didn't know what he  
would tell Nathan when that day came. Eliot was afraid. Afraid of what he would do. Afraid of  
what he would answer. Afraid of what would happen if Nathan found out everything and he  
was afraid that Nathan wouldn't let him stay on the team. He was afraid of what was going to  
happen if he lost this. What would Jeff do if Eliot told him that he lost his job.

Eliot wasn't a loser. His momma told him that when he asked why the other kids laughed at  
him because of his clothing. His papa had told him that when Eliot came home from his first  
day as a helper in a butcher's shop. He was frustrated that he couldn't sever everything from  
the pig like the butcher himself. He believed them both. That wasn't the problem but he  
believed Jeff, too. This was the first time he also believed that someone was right when they  
told him that he would never achieve something special. That he would never be the best at  
one thing. Eliot believed Jeff and he was more afraid of that than of any question Nathan could  
possibly ask. Even though Eliot didn't want to admit it, it was the most shameful fact in his  
life, no matter what he had already done with his life.

Nathan didn't do much that day. They hadn't a new job se everyone did what they wanted.  
Sophie practiced a new role, Parker did strange things only Parker could explain and  
Hardison made them a few new identities. Well, maybe a few hundred more identities.  
Probably more than ever needed. But Eliot was a mysterium. On a normal day the young man  
would exercise or would try to improve a receipt. But today, Eliot just sat on the table and read  
a book. The whole day. And when he finished the book, the hitter got another one from his  
backpag. He never looked up and just moved when he went to the toilet or when got up to get  
himself something to drink. And that was.., well, strange. There was no other word for it. It  
was just plain weird. And that was another problem. Nothing about Eliot was weird. The  
young man was a mysterioum but not weird. He had a mysterious past, mysterious future. He  
had to talk to Eliot. He had to get the truth out of Eliot. He had to know if the younger man was  
or is in a relationship. Had to know if he even wanted this relationship. Nathan wanted  
answers That wasn't too much, was it? But he couldn't just ask. It would be the rudest thing to  
do. Maybe he could combine pleasent things with useful thins. Wanted to learn more about the  
young man. Maybe Nathan could even make Eliot smile. He liked the younger mans smile.  
Liked how his eyes lit up while he smiled. And then, the young man looked almost beautiful.  
Maybe they could have dinner. Nothing that Eliot had cooked, even though it always tasted like  
a paradise on earth. No, in a restaurant. With steak, a nice glass of wine and everything.  
Then, Nathan had to shook his head. Eliot was a man. Would he even enjoy something like  
that?

"Would you like to go out with me?"

Eliot was shocked enough to let his book fall out of his hands. He must have a problem with  
his hearing. "Excuse me, please?" Eliot stuttered. His throat was dry, as if he hadn't had a glass  
of water the whole day, maybe for more like three days. Maybe he had finally gone crazy. He  
thought Nathan just asked him out, like on a real date but it's Nathan. Nathan can have Sophie.  
He has had Sophie. He could have the most beautiful women Eliot could imagine. Nathan  
could probably have his fair share of men as well. Better men than Eliot, younger men. Men  
who are more beautiful than Eliot. There was no reason why Nathan would ask him on a date  
ever.

Nathan was still looking at him with a small smile playing on his lips. "Well, you know. You  
and me, a nice restaurant, a few glass of wine, the usual." Eliot knew that he had to look like a  
fish. "You mean, a date?!" He still couldn't believe it. Why him? Why not someone younger?  
Now Nathan grinned and shrugged his shoulders. "A date or just a nice dinner between  
friends but to be honest, I would prefer the first option. This Friday. Just think about it, yeah?"  
Dumbfounded, Eliot nodded and looked after Nahan who went upstairs.

Once Eliot thought about it, he deceided he would really like to go on a date with Nathan. Jeff  
hadn’t taken him on a date since he began to get angry and that was a long time ago.  
"Do you really think I'm that stupid?!" Jeff screamed while he kicked Eliot in the stomach.  
Eliot gasped but didn't do anything to protect himself. He had already tried to defend himself  
and that was what brought him to the ground. He knew that this would be a bad idea. Eliot  
knew that he shouldn't have made up a story about a company trip to Colorado for the  
weekend. Jeff grabbed a handful of Eliot’s hair and pulled him up. He knew he shouldn't  
scream but he couldn't help himself. It hurt like hell. Just plain pain. A kick under his chin  
brought salvation. It still hurt like hell but at least Jeff let go of his hair. "Company trip my ass.  
You're going with the guy you had dinner with to...to what? To get yourself fucked like the  
cheap whore you are? I don't think so Eliot. You Are Mine And Only Mine! Understood?" Each  
word was punctuated with another kick to his body, no matter where it landed. Eliot just tried  
to protect his head as well as he could.

After the kicking stopped Eliot rolled onto his stomach and coughed. When he opened his eyes  
again he saw that the had coughed blood. "Fuck." he mumbled and wished a second later he  
would have never said it. Jeff pulled him up again and dragged him to the bedroom. "Get  
naked and on the bed. All fours. Now." Jeff hissed and let go of Eliot. He stumbled to the bed  
but still looked at his boyfriend. He just hoped he didn't do too much damage to their  
relationship. Maybe he could still save it. "Jeff, listen, please. It's the whole off..." a slap across  
his face forced him into silence. Before he could even think straight again Jeff had pulled  
Eliot‘s and his own trousers down before he threw Eliot on the bed and climbed up behind  
him. "You listen to me slut!" Jeff said in such a sweet voice that Eliot would like to run away, if  
he could. Before he could think of a way out Jeff entered him with three fingers. Eliot hissed  
in pain and tried to ignore the tear that was running down his cheek. It was his fault after all.  
If he would have been good he would have gotten spit to make everything easier but he hadn't  
been good. Jeff pulled him up by his hair again. "You are not going on this company trip. I'm  
not allowing it and if you still want to work at your precious office next week, you should think  
of a way to properly apologize to me. To make it up to me. Do you understand that, you filthy  
slut?" Eliot nodded and tried to ignore the pain but it wasn't easy. His whole body was  
already bruised and there would be new bruises in the morning. "I didn't hear you" Jeff  
screamed suddenly when he yanked his fingers out. "Yes. Yes, I understand." Eliot groaned and  
screamed when Jeff thrust into him.

It wasn't often that Nathan got nervous. Angry, demanding, frustrated, afraid and maybe, just  
maybe, kind of irritating but nervous? He's been nervous just a few times in his life. When he  
proposed to Maggie, for example. He'd been nervous as hell that day and for three days after  
that and now he's almost as nervous as he'd been on that day.

Nathan waited for an answer from Eliot and expected one as soon as he came through the  
door but that was the main problem. Eliot didn't do that. He was late today and not just an  
hour or two. Eliot already missed half the day as it was half past two in the afternoon! Eliot  
was never later than 9 a.m. Once it was half past ten in the morning. And Eliot has been half  
dead the day before. Nathan was nervous as hell about Eliot‘s answer but he‘d also begun to  
worry. He should ask Hardison to track Eliot‘s cell phone or maybe he should ask Parker to  
drop by Eliot‘s apartment. "Nate did you hear from Eliot? I couldn't reach him all day." Sophie  
asked him while she put her phone down. Obviously, she had the same idea. "No. Well, maybe  
he took a day off. He deserves it." Nathan just hoped that Eliot didn't run because of his  
proposal for a date.

He woke up to a dull throbbing in his head and a burning in his ass. The second thing he  
noticed after he woke up was that he was cuffed to the bed. Not only cuffed to the bed but at a  
strange angle too. It was a long metal chain with a single handcuff. He goraned when he saw  
that he couldn't open it with his bare hands and there was nothing near by that he could use to  
open it. It seemed as if Jeff had finally gone totally insane. It wasn't dark but it wasn't light  
either. It wasn‘t the same as it was in the morning so it has to be evening and that scared the  
shit out of him. If it was already evening then he‘d slept at least for 18 hours. He never slept  
more than 4 hours at a time and then only if it was really necessary! Eliot was really really  
fucked and he could only hope that someone noticed when he wouldn't turn up today and  
probably not the day after too.

Parker was worried. She would never show it openly but she was worried about Eliot. Well,  
more about Eliot‘s absence to put it precisely. He didn't show up for three days. Maybe he  
really had needed a day off. It had worried Nathan but then again, Nathan wouldn't be  
complete without worry. When Eliot didn't show up two days ago, though, Hardison began to  
worry. Really Parker bugged Hardison long enough that he finally tried to locate Eliot's  
mobile. It was at his home adress so everyone thought Eliot just needed time but now she  
began to really worry. It wasn't like Eliot to stay away from them without notice at least. She  
needed to talk to Nathan about it.  
His head hurt.

Eliot didn't knew why but this dull pain drove him crazy. It was even worse than the pain all  
over his body, worse than the humiliation of not being able to provide for himself. Jeff broke  
his arm when he didn't listened to him, even though Jeff had told him to make dinner for the  
third time. Jeff hadn't allowed Eliot to see a doctor and said that just served him right. It was  
still humliating that he couldn't cook now or clean himself up. He couldn't even go to the  
bathroom alone!

Eliot knew that he screwed it up. He knew that Jeff would leave him now or that he had  
already left him. Jeff hadn't shown up this morning. He hadn't answered when Eliot called  
and even shouted his lovers name. Jeff had left. Eliot knew that it had ended like that because  
he never could keep something precious. First he lost Aimee, then he lost his Dad and now he  
lost Jeff. Everyone Eliot loved would leave him in the end and it was his own fault. Eliot  
sighed. He should leave the team as soon as possible. He should leave his crazy Parker before  
she decided she didn't want his gruff mood around her anymore maing her plant sad. He  
should leave Hardison, the little brother he never had. He should leave Sophie before she  
realised that he would always be a killer and begin to be afraid of him. Most of all he should  
leave Nathan before the older man began to realise how worthless Eliot was.  
Eliot knew that he could never compete with Sophie. The brunette would always be Nathan's  
first choice. Even though Eliot knew that it was good for him to be even a third choice, he just  
knew that he could never share Nathan with someone else, even if it was just in his head or  
just in Nathan's eyes.

Eliot sighed and swallowed. He was thirsty. Maybe he would be lucky today. Maybe Jeff  
would come back but Eliot knew that his lover wouldn't come through the door. Eliot wasn't  
worth the trouble.

No matter how hard Nathan tried, he couldn't ignore the fact any longer that Eliot hadn’t come  
back. It had been a week since anybody had seen him. Hardison checked all the security feeds  
he could find. Eliot hadn't been to his favourite bar or bought any grocceries. It was as if he  
had just disappeared but at the same time Nathan somehow knew that Eliot was still in town.  
He couldn't explain it. It was just a feeling after all.

’’Can we steal Eliot back?“ Parker asked in a small voice. It was hard for Parker that Eliot  
wasn't around anymore. The young woman acted like Eliot was her big brother and Eliot  
acted the same. Nathan just hoped that Eliot didn't disappear because he wanted to. It would  
break Parker’s heart but Eliot was their friend. It would break all of them if he never came  
back.

’’Hardison, call Sophie. We're driving to Eliot's apartment.“ Nathan said with a hopeful  
calming smile. Parker grinned as if Nathan hung the moon and the stars for her. Hardison  
nodded, relieved. Even if Eliot didn't want do see any of them, at least would know that  
everything was fine with the hitter. Nathan had to know that Eliot was fine or he would never  
be able to get a night of peaceful sleep again.

Eliot's apartment was not like anything he would have ever imagined. First it wasn't an  
apartment, it was a house with two floors. Second it was in a nice neighborhood with white  
picket fences and other very traditional touches. There was even a playground just two blocks  
away. He thought that Eliot would live in a nasty neighborhood with shady people so he could  
bust a few heads every other day but damn it,this was really nice! Alec would envy him if he  
wouldn't have an apartment in a similar neighborhood but damn it, Eliot had an house! "Okay,  
so what?" he asked and looked up from the two little boys playing soccer in the front yard.  
"We're going to bust in to try to get Eliot out of there no matter what will happen which could  
be many nasty things or we could get beaten by the most angry man in the world. The he will  
hate us because we're disturbing him while he's in with some hot chick? That's not the  
smartest plan ever, Nate." he quietly said and got a look from Sophie in return. He brought his  
hands up. "Just saying." "Just saying? Eliot could be in danger and you..." Sophie began but  
went silent when Nate made hand gesture. "No, Hardison is right, Sophie. The chances that  
Eliot‘s not alone are high and the chance that there are dangerous people beside him is even  
higher. We could get hurt so if anyone doesn't want to do this, just say so.“

Parker looked first to Nathan and then to Alec. "But he would do the same for us!" Alec  
nodded and took a deep breath. Of course he would do it but it was risky and to be honest, he  
rather would try to free Eliot from hundreds of bad guys who are torturing the older man than  
to just disturb him while Eliot is on it. Alec knew that Parker never thought about it and that  
Sophie is convinced that Eliot has changed but he knew that Nathan had thought about it.  
That Eliot left. That he didn't want to see them anymore and that thought hurt, Alec knew  
that, but it was a realistic thought. It was Eliot. After all, the guy never stayed more than a few  
months anywhere before he met them. Now he had already stayed for over three years. Well,  
he had been to Dubai, Pakistan, Syria, Liberia, Germany and Russia and maybe to every other  
country in the world that doesn't have a solid mobile signal where could track Eliot's phone.  
Eliot always came back to them though. Maybe the hitter just had enough of them. Hardison  
swallowed and looked over to Nathan and saw the same thoughts in the man's eyes but also  
the same hope he himself had. That Eliot's past just caught up with him but then again, would  
it be better for the hitter to be dead by now?

Eliot was beginning to imagine things. That was the only explantion as to why he thought he  
could hear Sophie's angry talking. It wasn't there for long, just for a few words he couldn't  
really understand then it was gone. He just had imagined it. They would never come for him.  
He was just as worthless as Jeff had always told him. Jeff had been there. Yesterday, if Eliot  
was right but he couldn't say for sure. He was more unconscious than not. Jeff gave him a bit  
water and cleaned him up a bit. He said that it hurt him more than it hurt Eliot. Eliot could  
understand that. After all, it was Eliot himself that couldn't keep his thoughts from other men.  
It was Eliot who would destroy their relationship. It was Eliot who wouldn't be good enough.  
He would never be good enough for Jeff, would never be good enough for the team and  
especially never be good enough for Nathan. Jeff tried everything. Eliot knew that but it wasn't  
enough. Eliot would screw up in the end. Maybe Jeff would come by again tomorrow. Jeff had  
said he didn't know if he would make it again.

Then there was a knock on the front door that had Eliot wondering. No one knew them well  
enough to just come over. Jeff didn't like it when Eliot had tried to be friendly to his neighbors  
a few days after they moved in. He was angry because he thought Eliot tried to flirt with the  
wife. Eliot didn't realize that he did it and apologized for it. Jeff accepted and Eliot didn't try  
to talk to the neighbors again. The neighbors just thought they tried to keep to themselves and  
let them. Suddenly another knock, this time stronger, more determined.

“Eliot? It's me, Nathan. Open the door please.“ he heard and then knew that it was just his  
imagination. Nathan didn't knew where lived. He never told anyone and his cellphone  
probably died days ago. Then there was a wild pounding. ``Listen to me, Eliot. We're going to  
rescue you from the bad men. I promise.“ This time he imagined Parker. That was probably  
the perfidious torture his mind could give him. He really loved that girl with her 130 punds of  
craziness. It was a shame that he wouldn't be able to see her again.  
Then there was the sound of someone kicking the door down and he imagined that someone  
touched him before he became unconcious again.

Nathan felt as if he had to vomit. Eliot was bound to the bed like... like an animal, with hand  
cuffs. Real police cuffs. He looked like he hadn't eaten in days or had enough water in days. At  
least he looked clean. "Is he okay? Sophie check on him!" Parker whispered shocked and  
Sohpie rushed over to the young man and checked his pulse. "Hey Eliot." she whispered  
smoothly. Eliot smiled slightly but then it seemed like he went unconsious again. "Is he...?"  
Nathan asked and Sophie confirmed his unasked question with a nod. "We have to get him out  
of here. Hardison, help me." Nathan said and rushed to Eliot's side, too. He would find out  
who did this to Eliot and then he would hunt them down and he would make sure that they  
regretted it.

The first thing Jeff noticed when he got home was the way people were looking at him. They were also whispering. That never happened to him. He tried to keep his head down when it came to his neighbors. He tried to be invisible to them and until now, he had been as invisible as he always wanted. He just knew them from seeing them or from a polite greeting on the street or in the grocery store. Now he was everything but invisible. He parked in front of his house, walked to the door and stopped dead cold. His door lock looked.... it looked like someone kicked his door in. He saw that almost every day. It was his job after all but if someone did break into his house then... Panic-stricken he rushed into the house and into his bedroom. He wasn't there. Eliot wasn't where he left him." Where the hell....?" he murmured and then he turned around. "Where the hell are you?!" Jeff screamed and punched the wall where a hole with the size of his fist appeared. Someone took Eliot. Someone took his boyfriend. No one ever took what belonged to him and Eliot belonged to Jeff. They belonged together, like Bonnie and Clyde. They were perfect together and anyone who tried to steal Eliot from him would suffer like they never suffered before. Angry he fished his radio out of his uniform. "Dispatch come in, dispatch come in. 459 in Sellwood, Lexington Street with a 207, male, 36 years old, shoulder length brown hair, 5 feet 8, 185 pounds. I'm going to repeat it, burglary in Sellwood on Lexington Street with kidnapping. The victim is a white male, 36 years old, has shoulder lenght brown hair, is 5 feet 8 tall and weights 185 pounds. Fellow officer needs help."


	2. Chapter 2

The next time he woke up Eliot didn’t realize what was happening. He was warm and he felt  
clean. His throat hurt but he didn't knew why. Everything was fuzzy like he was wrapped in  
cotton. Nice cotton candy. He wanted water but he couldn't get a word out. It was as if  
someone could read his mind. Someone put a straw in his mouth and told him drink. Fresh,  
clean and cool water hit his mouth and it tasted like the best thing he was ever allowed to  
taste. When the straw disappeared Eliot could feel his head throbbing. He didn't knew why  
but he felt strangley alive but when he tried to sit himself up there was a small hand that  
pushed him back into the warmth of the cotton candy wool. He giggled and closed his eyes  
again.

"How is he?" Nathan asked quietly while he watched Parker sleeping next to Eliot. She hadn't  
moved even an inch and hadn’t just curled up on Eliot's chest because Sophie told Parker that  
she could sufficate Eliot with her weight. Sophie sighed and looked up. "Well, it could be  
worse but that's the only good thing. He's dehydrated and hasn't food for maybe the entire  
week but there's nothing broken. As for bruises, well, you have eyes, too." she answered and  
scrunched up her nose. She was right. Nathan had eyes. He could see that the other man had  
more than just a few bruises and Eliot had them on almost every inch of his skin. If Nathan  
didn't knew better he would say that Eliot was used as a punching bag in the last few months  
and now he couldn't ignore the tiny voice in his head anymore. He couldn't deny the facts laid  
out in front of him. Eliot was in an abusive relationship and none of them had even suspected  
that Eliot was seeing someone. "He didn't want us to know. You know how people in such  
relationships act." Sophie suddenly said. She was still watching Eliot but Nathan felt that her  
whole attention was on him now. He didn't bother with answering. He needed a drink.  
Two hours later Hardison just wanted to kill Parker.

There weren't many times he wanted to kill Parker. In fact, he could count the occasions on  
one hand. The first time was on their first job when she tossed him from the building with an  
untested harness. That wasn't nice. He almost had a heart attack because, really?! He wasn't  
even thirty. He was not, under any circumstances, old enough to even think about an heart  
attack! Then there was the one time Parker almost crashed the car while everyone else was  
still in it. Nathan had forbidden Parker to drive a car without permission only granted by  
Nathan himself. Good man, wise desicion. The third time was when she jumped at six o'clock  
on Christmas morning on his bed and wanted to open presents. Six o'clock! In the morning!  
No one should be awake at six o'clock on christmas morning even Eliot had slept in that day  
until eight but now was one these rare occasions where he could kill Parker. It wasn't even her  
own fault. She couldn't understand and asked. She did what she always did but today  
Hardison just couldn't be patient with her. "Listen, Parker. I don't know who did this to Eliot."  
he began, closed his laptop and brought his hand up when she opened her mouth. "I don't  
know who did this or why someone should ever hurt Eliot that badly but not all relationships  
are always nice, you understand and the bad person in such a relationship is going to be  
punished. Nathan is going to get them. Okay?" Hardison knew that he was too harsh with the  
young woman but he just couldn't handle her at the moment. Parker just looked at him before  
she turned around and went to the upper floor. Even though he felt bad about it, Hardison was  
grateful. He couldn't understand it, either. It was Eliot not just some chick but their hitter.  
That angry, mean bastard that always needed to hit someone to feel better himself. Eliot  
wasn't someone that let someone beat him up. That was just not happening but if this wasn't  
happening why was the older man bruised like Bruce Willis in Die Hard. Why hadn't he  
woken up in the last five hours? Why did none of them noticed that something like that was  
happening? Seriously, they were probably the worst friends ever. Someone like Eliot would  
never ask for help. Eliot was too much of a macho guy to ask for help for himself and that was  
what brought them to this situation now. Alec sighed and opened his laptop again. He had to  
distract himself somehow.

The next time he woke up everything was clearer. His head still hurt like hell and he felt as if  
he was a big bruise. He felt sore but at least he was alive. Confused he looked around. He was  
in a bedroom but not in his own bedroom and he wasn't cuffed anymore. That was... well, it  
was good but he didn't knew where he was and that wasn't good. "Hey. I see you're awake. Finally. I'm hungry. Can you make me pancakes?" Eliot almost fell out of the bed. Parker looked at him with big, sleepy and at the same time serious eyes. He had to be in Nathan's apartment. That was the only explantion he could think of. "Parker? What.. how...why?" he tried to ask but he couldn't form the question. It was stuck in his head. "We freed you from the bad guys. Who was it? The Russians? Israelis? Oh, I know, it was the french government." Parker said too fast to understand. His head felt dizzy. The team took him and Jeff had to know that Eliot wasn't home anymore. Jeff would be angry as hell and probably afraid, too. Eliot tried to swallow the big lump in his throat but he couldn't. Jeff probably thought that Eliot had left him but Eliot would never do something like that! Jeff was good for him. He punished Eliot whenever he did something wrong so Eliot fit in better. Eliot needed Jeff. "So, pancakes?" Parker asked while she chewed on something that looked like kohlrabi. Since when did someone buy kohlrabi except him? "Yeah. Yeah. I... I just have to talk to Nathan first." 

Nathan almost dropped his glass when he saw Eliot wobbling down the stairs. The younger man looked bad, almost like a train hit him and that was an understatement. "What the hell,  
Eliot! You should go to bed! You look like death hit you!" Nathan shouted and winced when  
Eliot hung his head, took a step back and tried to make himself smaller "I'm sorry. I just... well,  
I wanted to know why I'm here please." the younger man mumbled behind his hair. Nathan  
took a deep breath and set his drink down on the table. "Where should I begin? You just  
disappeared on us without any notice and we were worried. We worried like hell. I thought  
you were being tortured or dead!" Nathan said as calmly as he could manage. It wasn't an easy  
task with Eliot standing barely six feet away from him. He could see almost every bruise Eliot  
was spotted with and almost every cut that they hadn‘t bandaged. Eliot looked up and there  
were mixed emotions on his face, angry lines around his mouth and worried lines on his  
forehead. There was panic in the younger mans eyes and anyone could see that Eliot was  
confused and didn't know what he should do. "That's.. nice but I took a job and had.. had this  
blackout. My partner had to cuff me to bed to keep me from breaking any funiture. I’d like to  
go back." Eliot said and Nathan wanted to grab him. He wanted to scream at him and ask him  
why he still bothered with lies but he didn't do anything. He even managed a smile. "I  
understand, but please, stay here for just a few days. Sophie was really worried and Parker  
missed you in her own way. Just a few days. Okay?" He was more than relieved when Eliot  
nodded after almost a full minute.

"Yeah, yeah,I can do that...but.... Do you mind if I use your phone?" Eliot whispered and Nathan  
threw his glass at the wall without thinking. He didn't think about Eliot's reaction but he had  
never imagined that Eliot would bring his arms up to protect his head or that he ducked back  
behind the couch and tried to make himself as small as possible. It didn't last long though, only  
a few seconds, but in those few seconds there was plain horror and fear in Eliot's eyes.  
Suddeny, the look in Eliot's eyes switched to anger and Nathan knew he would always hate  
himself for what he was about to do . "No. You're going to stay here as long as it takes to clear  
your mind. No phone calls, no e-mails or anything else. Everytime you leave the building  
someone is going with you. No negotiations. Except for Parker, we all know somewhat of what  
happened to you the last week and except for Parker, we all know that you didn't take a job.  
She thinks you were caught by terrorists. She didn't even think for a second that you would  
leave us and you're not going to destroy that faith and trust in you just because you want to  
call that bastard and endanger everyone. You are not leaving this house alone until I allow it.  
Do you understand?" Nathan hated himself for the resigned look in Eliot's eyes and on Eliot's  
face. The way he hung his shoulders and nodded as if he could understand everything. He  
nodded because Nathan made him believe that Eliot would put the team in danger and that  
was the only thing Eliot would never do. Nathan did the only thing Eliot would really react to,  
threats and dominance. "Yes. I understand. I'm sorry." Eliot whispered and walked slowly  
toward the kitchen.

He would love to hit his head against the fridge but he didn't. He was an idiot. Of course  
everyone would know that he was weak and that he couldn't even get a relationship to work.  
Now Nathan knew how pathetic Eliot really was and every chance Eliot may have ever had, no  
matter how small had disappeared. Nathan knew Eliot was used and that he wasn't good  
enough for Nathan or for the team either. Eliot whimpered slightly and a tear dropped down on the tiles. He would always be a worthless piece of shit. He should be happy that men like Nathan and Jeffrey even talked to him. 

Everyone looked at him. Under any other circumstances he would've tried to avoid the attention but not today. Today he had to find Eliot, he had to find what was his. Eliot didn't know what was good for him. Jeff had thought that they had made progress. That Eliot knew that he couldn't survive without him. That he couldn't be happy without him. That no one would ever care for the younger man like Jeff would. "Come here, my poor baby." Carol, the receptionist said and hugged him. He tried to step back but it took a few seconds before she let him. "I'm sorry." he muttered. "I have to find him." Carol sighed and nodded, as if she understood. Maybe she did but the chances that she really understood everything were slim. How could someone understand what Eliot meant to him? How important the younger man was for him. Otherwise, Jeff wouldn't bother to teach Eliot. "Jeff? We have to take your statement." Wesley, a fellow officer, muttered next to him. “Don't worry, my dear. We're going to find your man.” Carol whispered with a small smile. Jeff nodded. He had to find Eliot. He had to find the younger man before someone spoiled him, before someone found Eliot that didn't knew how to handle him.

Nathan woke to the feeling of being watched. It wasn't unusual for him to wake up and find  
Parker watching him while he had been asleep. It was creepy as hell and scared the shit out of  
him the first three times it happened but he got used to it. Now it was a different feeling,  
though. It wasn’t Parker's questioning stare that indicated that she didn't really know why he  
wouldn't sleep hanging on the ceiling. This stare was... intense, as if he was being observed like  
prey. "Eliot, why are you still up?" Nathan asked groaning as the figure at the door flinched.  
"I'm sorry. I didn't want to wake ya up." Eliot murmured in his southern drawl that indicated  
he slept at least his 90 minutes and just woke up. Nathan sighed and turned the lamp on  
beside his bed. "Nah, I was already awake." Nathan lied and knowing that Eliot knew that but  
he didn't call Nathan on it. "I... wanted to talk to ya." Eliot now almost whispered. Nathan  
nodded and made a gesture toward the chair in the corner. "What did you want to talk about?"  
Eliot took a deep breath. It was now or never. " Whydidyaaskedmeout?" Eliot blurted out and  
almost bit his tongue off. Nathan just looked at him before the older man shook his head  
"Excuse me? I'm awake five minutes. Don't speak as fast as a train." Eliot tasted blood and  
nodded. "Why did ya ask me out?" he said more slowly this time but without looking up. He  
was almost sure that he didn't wanted to hear the answer. Maybe it was because Eliot looked  
pretty. Jeff often called him that. Sometimes Jeff told him that he was a great fuck if Eliot  
behaved. Maybe that was why Nathan asked him but maybe, just maybe, Nathan liked Eliot a  
bit like Eliot liked Nathan. That was almsot impossible though. Nathan could have women  
like Sophie. Sophie was nice and hot. She was intelligent and always knew what to do. "I like  
you, that's why." Nathan interrupted his thoughts. "There's no ultimate reason why. Just that  
simple reason." Eliot nodded and had to suppress a tear. "I like you too" he whispered, almost  
inaudibly. "but Jeff‘s good to me. He treats me well."

Nathan hissed out a breath. "Yeah, chaining someone to the bed for days and beating them to  
a bloody pulp, that's the way to treat his lover. A sure way to scare them forever and push  
them away." Nathan spit out and watched Eliot flinch. The younger man still didn't look up.  
"He's helping me. I... I don't get a lot of things right at least in relationships. Don't you see?  
Aimee? How did that turn out? Jeff's helping me get better and he's helping me to do things  
right." Eliot said with an unsteady voice. Nathan could swear that Eliot eyes were glittering  
but it could have been the light, too. "No one does everything right in a relationship. I mean,  
look at Maggie and me." Nathan began but Eliot shook his head and stood up. "I have to be  
good to get everything. I can kill people without breaking in sweat and Jeff's helping me get  
better." Eliot said and then walked out of the room, shaking. Nathan sighed and threw his  
pillow at the wall. "Fuck." he murmered and looked at the clock. Six a.m., great. He let himself  
fall back on the bed with the knowledge that he wouldn't be able to get any more sleep. He  
was going to find this Jeff and then Nathan would kill that bastard. Even if it was the last thing  
he would ever do. Nathan would help Eliot to get rid of his ghosts. It was more important to  
show Eliot that Jeff wasn't right, that Jeff was just another bastard and that Eliot was so much  
better than that scum.

When he came home again everything felt wrong. Jeff hated to admit that the house just felt  
empty without Eliot in it. It also didn't smell like home. Usually, when Jeff came home, it  
smelled like Eliot. Most of the time it smelled like Eliot had cooked. Eliot cooked better than  
any chef Jeff knew of or even heard of. Well, Eliot was a chef too but for some reason the  
younger man never wanted to go back into that profession. He would rather work at that  
safety advice company with the strange people Eliot sometimes told stories about or that  
Nathan guy. That piece of shit that tried to steal Eliot, even though Eliot denied it. Maybe Eliot  
just honestly didn't realize it. His lover was sometimes that naive. Jeff realized that he didn't  
know how this Nathan even looked or how any other co worker of Eliot‘s looked. Jeff never  
met them. They just existed in the stories Eliot told him. Maybe that was why Jeff had to discipline Eliot so often in the last few weeks. He wanted to have Jeff in every part of his life. Eliot knew Jeff's friends, too, or rather his colleagues. He cooked for them and sometimes went to a party or a barbeque. Jeff didn't even knew if that Parker was male or female. Jeff took a deep breath and nodded to himself. He would find Eliot and show him that he couldn't just run away because he did something wrong and after Eliot got better, Jeff would meet his colleagues. He would tell this Nathan guy to fuck off He might even call someone to rough the guy up a bit. This guy tried to chat up his Eliot after all and Eliot belonged to him. Just to him, not to some other bloke. Jeff would make that clear to Eliot, too. It seemed that Eliot had forgotten it again. It seemed that the younger man forgot everything Jeff had done for him. Jeff had taught him so well and now everything had gone to hell. If Eliot still wanted to act like a little bitch after Jeff found him, maybe Jeff should treat his lover like one. It hurt to even think about that option but Jeff had to forbid Eliot from anything that would distract him from making everything better. Jeff didn't want to do that but he would do it if it was necessary.

Crying, Eliot sat on the couch and looked at the black television. He didn't know what he  
should believe anymore. Nathan told him that he was interested in him but why would  
Nathan be interested in him? Eliot wasn't anything special. He had always known that, even  
way back in High School. Ryan made it clear to Eliot that he would never be enough to satisfy  
a man. Eliot could understand that even then. He never looked special or could never do  
anything special that made him manly. Ryan explained it quite often. There always had to be  
a woman in a relationship. It was just natural for Eliot to be the "woman". Eliot could see why.  
He could cook, his hair was too long and he wasn't exactly just sharp edges. Even then it was  
clear. He had just wished that Ryan wouldn't screw around so openly. Everyone at school  
knew that Ryan had to get his fun somewhere else. At first it was because Eliot wouldn't put  
out and then, after Ryan showed him that it could be fun, because Eliot just wasn't that good.  
He wasn't that special. Two months before prom Ryan broke up with Eliot and told him that  
he found someone else. Someone that knew how to treat a man and that wouldn't gag and  
vomit everytime Ryan felt like a bit of rough sex. His momma still tried to get him to prom and  
his daddy even offered to shoot Ryan or at least to scare him to hell but Eliot hadn’t wanted  
that. He knew that it was all his fault. He should have been better. Eliot tried to be better.  
During college he had a lot of sex but after a few weeks he knew that he screwed that up, too.  
Most people called him whore and tried to avoid him. He continued to have a lot of sex until  
graduation but it never got better and Eliot still didn't understand why everyone liked sex that  
much. That was where Jeff had helped Eliot the first time. Jeff had told him that it was because there were people that didn't enjoy sex. It was just as simple as that. That still meant that you had to keep your partner happy. Eliot could fully understand that and agreed with Jeff. Eliot  
wanted Jeff to be happy. He didn't want to embarass Jeff just because Eliot couldn't do it right.  
He didn't want Jeff to spend his precious time looking for another guy to fulfill his needs and  
as far as Eliot knew, Jeff had never cheated on im. Jeff always told Eliot when he did something  
wrong and helped him to be better. Now, Eliot didn't even gag so much anymore while Jeff  
fucked his throat. Jeff always made sure that Eliot came, that Eliot's body was satisfied and  
that was more than most of Eliot's partners had done. Now, Eliot thought about cheating on Jeff. The only person that could really help Eliot to get better, to function like any other human being and Eliot betrayed him. He just couldn't stop. No, he didn't want to stop. Jeff often told Eliot that you could do everything if you wanted it. That Eliot just didn't want to get better. Maybe Jeff was right after all. Eliot took a deep breath and looked at the clock. It read half past six in the morning. He woke Nathan up and Nathan had still talked to him as if Eliot hadn't bothered him. Eliot was more than ashamed to admit that he liked being with Nathan. The older man smelled nice and Eliot could talk to him for hours about everything and nothing. He even liked to watch a bit and that was the worst. Sometimes, Eliot liked to just watch Nathan and imagine how it would feel to have sex with him. If Nathan would prepare him like Jeff did when he had tried to show Eliot how much fun sex could be or if Nathan would be rough like Ryan because it didn't matter anyway. Would sex with Nathan be normal or even pleasant or if it would hurt like the times he made Jeff especially angry. "Fuck!" Eliot roared and smashed the TV remote on the wall. He had to go back to Jeff because Jeff cared about him but on the other hand Eliot wanted to stay with Nathan He wanted to see if the older man would still try to court him or if he just took what he wanted like Steven had done. After all, it wasn't as if Eliot got any pleasure out of it no matter how they did it. There was no need to spend much time or money on him. Suddenly Parker appeared from the ceiling and looked at him with wide eyes. "You woke me. Why did you wake me and why did you break the remote? How can I watch cartoons with a broken remote? Do you think Hardison can fix it?" Parker asked way too fast for someone who just woken up. Eliot shot her a sad smile. Parker was wrong, too. He just wondered what she had done right to be content with that. "Yeah, Parker. Hardison will fix it. He wants to watch cartoons, too. Remember?" Parker looked at him skeptically and then just simply beamed. “You're right. Sophie said I had to ask you so.. . Will you make me pancakes with double chocolate and sprinkles and peanut butter please?“ Eliot just shook his head. That girl would never even begin to understand the concept of social rules. “Of course but first I have some groccery shopping to do. Go wake Hardison. He can do that with me.“ Within a second, Parker just disappeared again. Eliot envied her for that.

Grumbling, Hardison walked down the stairs. Hey, he was happy that Eliot wanted to go  
outside and that he felt better but why the hell did Eliot wanted him to come? To shop for  
grocceries! Grocceries! Really, that just wasn't fair. Why couldn't Eliot take Sophie or Nathan?  
He understood why Eliot wouldn't want to take Parker After the last time, he really  
understood that but hey, why did he, Alec Hardison, king of the nerds, have to go with Eliot?  
Because seriouslyif something bad happened what the hell would he do? Beat the enemy with  
his laptop? Never!

"Already here?" Eliot growled. The older man looked much better than the last time Hardison  
had seen him. The bruises were fading ,slowly, but they were fading. Eliot looked like he had  
slept more than an hour and a half and one could see that Sophie or Nathan had success in  
getting food into Eliot. Hardison could damn well see Nathan's amused look and he could see  
that Sophie was grinning in her coffee. Well, fuck them! He was a real human trying to get  
some sleep! Only Parker looked sad and somewhat determined. She walked over to him and  
held something up. It looked the TV remote. "It's broken. Eliot did that. Fix it and then go  
shopping with Eliot. I want chocolate pancakes with peanut butter and sprinkles. Then we  
can watch cartoons and maybe something with zombies." Parker told him and slipped the  
remote in his back pocket. Hardison just looked at her. "Again? Didn't you have chocolate  
pancakes yesterday?" he asked and shook his head. Parker just continued to look at him, now  
slightly sullen. "Maybe Hardison would be nicer if you would just ask him, Parker." Sophie  
said. Bewildered, Nathan looked over to Sophie but didn't say anything and Hardison had to  
sigh. "Please fix the remote so I can watch cartoons with chocolate pancakes." Parker  
grumbled. Even Eliot smiled a little bit before he remembered that smiling obviously hurt,  
too. "Come on, Hardison. Get that girl her pancakes." Eliot almost whispered and Hardison  
noticed that Eliot avoided Nathan‘s eyes and Sophie's worried looks. Well, it seemed that it  
would be a fucking fantastic day.

The days went by and everything went almost back to normal for Nathan. Eliot hadn't avoided  
him for two days and had even spoken to him again. Sometimes Eliot even looked him in the  
eyes. Sophie had stopped asking strange questions and didn't looke twice anymore when Eliot  
blushed slightly. Hardison went groccery shopping every day with Eliot now and even though  
the hacker would never admit it now or even after his death, he enjoyed it. Parker was happy  
because she got a new remote. Eliot had destroyed the old one completly. Parker had even  
picked the remote herself. They needed almost five hours at the store but now she had one.  
And Eliot... well, he seemed better. Most of the brusies were gone and he even smiled like three  
times every day. He was almost normal now but Nathan could hear Eliot at night. He could  
hear the tossing while Eliot slept. Once it was even the whole 90 minutes. The day after Eliot  
looked like death himself but until now it was a one time thing.

"No! Defintley no! Not again!" Hardison almost screamed and brought Nathan back to the  
present. Parker pouted, Hardison looked angry and Eliot and Sophie both looked shocked and  
horrified. "But why?" Parker almost wailed. "Sweetie." Sophie said with a reassuring smile on  
her lips. Nathan envied her for this ability. "We can't eat the same pancakes every day. It's not  
healthy and to be honest we don't like them anymore." Ah, that was the problem, the pancake  
question. Since they had Eliot back Parker had wanted pancakes every day. It had been ten  
days in a row and it always had to be the same pancakes. Parker still pouted and Eliot sighed.  
"We'll make a deal. I'm going to make cinammon pancakes with strawberries, whipped cream  
and chocolate powder and if you don't like them, I'm going to make a whole stack pancakes  
with double chocolate, sprinkles and peanut butter just for you." Eliot offered. Parker's eyes  
narrowed down to slits while she thought about the offer. Within a second she had a huge grin  
on her face and nodded. "Okay but I want at least 20 pancakes just for myself and I want  
pancakes for dinner, too." Eliot nodded and Sophie shot him a grateful look and mouthed  
"Thank you" over to Eliot. Nathan smiled shaking his head. He would eat everything Eliot  
would cook for him even if it was the same for the rest of his life. Everything tasted delicious  
but to be honest he could try different pancakes, too. Eliot smiled and shook his head. "Come on, Hardison. We have ta get that girl her pancakes,and some for us too. Besides I still need a few things for dinner." Eliot said to him and Hardison nodded. Eliot looked happier not fully happy, but... content, maybe. The haunted look in the older man's eyes wasn't gone but it had faded and Eliot smiled more often. It suited him. Well, Hardison would never say that Eliot was attractive because seriously, he was so not gay but he looked good with a smile on his face. Not that stupid fake smile Eliot plastered on his face everytime he had to flirt himself through a job but the real one. That one that a few weeks ago only Parker had received. Now, they all got it, not as often or as openly as Parker but still they got it. "Damnit, bro! Why can't you go with Nate? Just because you never get tired of this shit and don't have anything better to do doesn't mean I don’t have important things to do." he complained just because he always did. There was a clouded expression on Eliot's face and the smile disapperead. Instead of saying something Eliot just huffed and went to the door.

"Ya coming?!"

Eliot tried to swallow the lump in his throat down. The last thing he needed was for Hardison  
to see him cry or even sniffle. That had hurt. Eliot knew that Hardison hadn't meant it like  
Eliot had understood it. It was Hardison after all. If the young hacker wanted to insult  
someone he would take some weird quotes from Star Wars or Star Trek or whatever creepy  
show the young man was watching and put them in an even weirder sentence. That didn't  
mean that it didn't hurt though. Êliot knew that he couldn't do that many things. Sure, he  
could cook and he could beat someone up pretty well. He could kill without a guilty conscience  
but that was it. There weren't any more special abilities but he didn't say anything. Hardison  
hadn't meant it like it sounded to Eliot's ears and that was it.

"Hey man, think we can have that delicous mushroom cream thingy with these green leafies in  
it for dinner?" Hardison suddenly asked while they were entering the groccery store and Eliot  
barely could supress a smile. That was the reason he knew Hardison hadn't meant what he  
said earlier. He just loved Eliot cooking too much. Eliot drew an eyebrow up, took a cart and  
looked at Hardison. "Ya mean mushrooms filled with spinach in a salmon citrus cream sauce?"  
he asked innocently. Hrdsion looked sheepishly to the ground. "Yeah but not only with  
spinach, you know? Maybe with other things too like cheese or something." Eliot grinned and  
nodded. He could do that. "Of course. We don't want ya to die just because ya would live on  
frozen food if I wasn‘t there to cook for ya. " Hardsion pulled a face on him but didn't say  
anything else. Everyone knew that Hardison couldn't even boil water. The young man tried it,  
once. It overcooked and Hardison didn't notice it. By the time Sophie came home the cooking  
pot had melted a bit. Melted! Only Hardison could do something like that. Even Parker knew  
how to boil water even if it was just to make spaghetti or ramen. At least she knew how to do  
something with the stove!

Still smiling, Eliot looked up for the vegetables they would need and had the feeling he was  
pretty sure was the same if he had been struck by lightning. There was Jeff. Not maybe than  
20 feet away and he was looking at the tomatoes. Maybe, just maybe, Eliot could run and Jeff  
wouldn't see him. But only if Eliot would run now and if he would run out of the store. Maybe  
he could hide and wait until Jeff went away. Or maybe...

 

"Hey man, everything alright? I got 30 of these mushrooms things. I hope that's enough but it  
will be if you're making dessert. Maybe something with strawberries. You know, Parker loves  
strawberries. You know, mushrooms don't even look like food. Who the hell got the idea to eat  
them to see if they were food, after all?" Hardsion suddenly boomed and Eliot just wanted the  
ground to open up and swallow him. Jeff looked up, irritated, and then disbeliving. "Eliot?!"  
The panic stricken look on Eliot's face was he first thing Alec noticed. Well, maybe just  
because he wandered off to get those mushroom things. Maybe Eliot was afraid he would get  
the wrong ones. Thoughtful, he looked at the fifteen white mushrooms and decided to get  
fifteen brown ones, too. They looked creepy. Not just the brown mushrooms but the white  
mushrooms too. Somewhat... unreal. His Nana sometimes had cooked mushrooms but only  
when they weren't too expensive. Nana didn't believe in frozen or packaged food no matter  
how hard Alec had tried to convice her that it was just as good. In that way, Eliot was a lot like  
Nana. They would like each other. Maybe he should visit Nana with the team. She would like  
them all but Eliot probably more than the others. Even if it was because he cooked things that  
just weren't meant to be cooked.

After Alec went back, Eliot still looked spooked. He sighed and decided to wake the man up.  
"Hey man, everything alright? I got 30 of these mushrooms things. I hope that's enough but it  
will be if you're making dessert. Maybe something with strawberries. You know, Parker loves  
strawberries .You know, mushrooms don't even look like food. Who the hell got the idea to eat  
them to see if they were food after all?" he said and the way Eliot winced it was too loud. Well,  
who cares anyway?

"Eliot?!" a man asked suddenly and Hardison had to contain himself not to scream "Fuck dude,  
seriously! have some respect and not scare me to death would you? Thanks!" Alec said  
definitly in a deep, manly voice but the guy just didn't react and the way Eliot tried to look for  
an exit wasn't good. Alec didn't like that but neither did he like the expression on the man‘s  
face.

Thoughtful, Jeff looked at the various vegetables. He never had been a good chef. Hell, he  
couldn't cook something delicious if his life depended on it. Eliot had always cooked for them.  
Eliot was a great chef. Jeff couldn't understand why Eliot had just left him. At first everyone at  
the police station had thought Eliot had been kidnapped. Jeff had thought that, too but there  
was never a tried blackmail and after three days Jeff had told everyone to call off the search  
and that Eliot probably had left but Jeff couldn't imagine that. He always treated Eliot right.  
He always taught him right from wrong. He just couldn't understand it.

"Hey man, everything alright? I got 30 of these mushrooms things. I hope that's enough. It  
will be if you're making dessert. Maybe something with strawberries. You know, Parker loves  
strawberries. You know, mushrooms don't even look like food. Who the hell got the idea to eat  
them to see if they were food, after all?" a too loud voice cried next to Jeff and he just wanted  
to hit the man but that would be against the law. The man had said a strange name. Parker.  
Like Eliot's colleague. Slowly Jeff looked up and almost rubbed his eyes. There was his Eliot.  
Sweet, little Eliot. Who looked at him, almost shocked. Horrified. "Eliot?!" Jeff asked  
disbelieving and the man next to him almost jumped. "Fuck dude, seriously! have some  
respect and not scare me to death, would you? Thanks!" the man said in a high pitched voice  
but Jeff ignored him. Eliot was there. Alive. Healthy. Good looking and with another man.  
Some guy who sounded like a girl. "J...Jeff. Hey. What... How..." Eliot stuttered and shook his  
head. He looked sweet.

"Whoa, stop there. Jeff? No fucking way. We're leaving like now." the guy next to him said and  
made a movement toward his Eliot but Jeff was faster. "Sweetie, what are you doing here. Ii  
thought... I thought you were kidnapped. That you left me" Jeff whispered. He couldn't believe  
it. Here was his morning star but suddenly Eliot's face just closed off with no more emotions.  
"Leave me alone, Jeff. I... I don't want to be with ya anymore." Eliot said in a small voice and  
felt like someone had filled his guts with ice water. " What did you just say?" Jeff asked but  
Eliot didn't look at him anymore. "I mean... we were such a good match. I love you. You're  
everything to me. What have I done wrong? I can make it better, I swear..." he tried but  
suddenly Eliot was pulled away by the other guy. "He said he didn't want to be with you  
anymore. Got that or are you deaf? We're going now and if you ever bother him again, I swear  
to you, you won't know what's happening to you.",the guy said and Jeff saw red.

"He loves me, you fucking nigger and he will come back, you will see. We are meant to be and I  
will get him back. He is mine. You hear? Mine!" he screamed and for the first time in his life it  
didn't matter anymore that people we're looking. Eliot would come back. Eliot would realize  
that he was the only one that could take care of him. Not this guy probably that Nathan guy.  
He would show them how much he loved Eliot and Eliot would come back to him. Now he knew what this Nathan looked like and he could track him with the video feed that was installed everywhere. He would find out where this fucking idiot lived and he would get  
Eliot back. Then he would kill this Nathan guy for even laying a fucking finger on his Eliot.

Two hours later, Eliot and Hardison got home. Eliot had flat out refused to go to Nathan's flat  
without everything they needed and Hardison had refused to go to their usual groccery store  
again. Nathan looked up, more worried than surprised and Sophie just looked relived. Parker,  
well.., she glared at them "Where were you? I want pancakes. Like now." she said and with a  
glance over to Sophie the thief rolled her eyes. "Please." she added. Eliot tried to smile and  
nodded. "Of course. Wouldn't want ya to go without your pancakes." the hitter said and  
disappeared into the kitchen. Nathan looked worried again. "We met his boyfriend at the  
grocery store. Ex-boyfriend. Whatever. Wasn't nice. Wanted to convince Eliot to come back,  
insulted me and maybe even threatened us. Or me. Or maybe just Eliot. I didn't listen to him.  
Then Eliot refused to come here again without everything for dinner and Parker's pancakes."  
Hardsion said in a rush while an angry look creeped onto Nathan's face. "Can you get his full  
name, Hardison? I want to know everything about him and I want his office adress. I'm going  
to talk to that s.... scum. I want to make it clear that if he ever comes near Eliot, I will kill him  
or worse." There was this cold voice Nathan only used while threatening marks. Sophie sighed  
"Do you really think that this is a wise decision? I mean, Eliot' ex- boyfriend probably got the  
message." she tried and Hardison admired her for that. He really did but he was fully on  
Nathan's side on this. "How long?" Nathan asked, still looking at Sophie. Hardison just  
shrugged "Give me three hours, four tops and you‘ll know everything about that little fucker  
that he knows himself and a lot more."

"Please! I'll do everything you want me to do but please, don't be like that!" Parker begged  
getting on her knees. Eliot tried his best not to laugh. Sophie just sighed and shook her head.  
"But why? Parker, it's beautiful and you're going to have so much fun and they wear costumes.  
You like costumes." Sophie tried again and then Eliot almost lost it. Of course Parker liked  
costumes. Funny costumes like nuns, pirates or zombies. This kind of costume though? Eliot  
definitely had his doubts. "But they are going to speak a language I don’t understand and I'm  
going to ask you every word so I can understand it. Do you really want that?" Parker asked and  
looked up, hope in her eyes. Sophie destroyed that hope with a determined shake of her head.  
"You're coming with me. Now dress up!" the British woman almost ordered. "But it's opera!"  
Parker cried out desperately and Eliot had to snort. Sophie shot him a glare and an evil smile  
formed on her face. Eliot shook his head but he knew that it didn't matter. "Come on Parker.  
Eliot is going to come with us and he speaks fluent italian. He can tell you exactly what the  
people are singing and you don't want Eliot to go all alone without you, do you?" Sophie asked  
and Parker‘s head shot around. Then she looked back to Sophie. "No. I'm coming. I just need to  
put on this creepy dressy thing you bought me." Parker said and literally ran up the stairs. "I  
hate you". It was a simple statement but it said everything Eliot wanted to say. Sophie just  
smiled sweetly. "Oh my darling dear. It won't be as bad as you think and now you are going to  
go into your office and you are going to wear that nice, black tuxedo of yours that I know you  
have. Go. Hush Hush. We have to be there in an hour and a half." Sophie whispered and still  
smiled her sweet, devilish smile. Eliot just took a deep breath but turned around and went to  
his office. He could do the most brutal things on earth and he could break every man on earth  
in two but no matter what he thought of, Sophie would always know something more cruel to  
get the mark to talk or to get everything she wanted. Now it was the opera with Parker. Eliot  
sighed and put on his tux. He never stood a chance against Sophie. He shouldn’t have even  
thought to try but to be honest, he could use any kind of distraction, even if it was opera.  
"Hey man, did... did you hear that? They're going to the opera. I mean like... well, like opera.  
You know, dudes singing in Spanish or Italian or some freakish European language. Not only  
Sophie is going, no, Parker and Eliot, too. I mean, really? That's just weird, man." Hardison  
whispered. Nathan nodded. He heard them. Well, he heard Parker‘s begging and then he heard  
that the begging had stopped. He knew Parker well enough to know that only Eliot or  
Hardison could make her stop begging and Hardison was here. That meant there were two  
opportunities. One, Eliot knocked Parker out but then Sophie would have complained and  
when Sophie complained about something, she did it loudly. Nathan hadn't heard anything.  
Second, he had agreed to go with Parker to the opera. Sophie may have had to force him  
without using any spoken threats. No matter, Eliot was going with them because Parker had  
stopped begging and Sophie wasn‘t complaining. Sophie was still conscious. He could hear her  
walking. "Nate? Shouldn't we... I mean shouldn't we help them? I mean, they are our friends.  
We can't just watch them burn. Can we?" Hardison said, still whispering. Nathan smiled and  
looked at Hardison's laptop. "No. I think they should go out. Sophie really appreciates opera  
and she really wants Parker to enjoy it, too. Plus Eliot could really use the distraction. It’s been  
a hard day for him." Nathan said and tried to get Hardison to look to the laptop, too, but the  
younger man didn't notice it. He just looked shocked to Nathan. "Nate, are you fucking  
serious? I mean, it's Sophie. She just wouldn't drag them to the opera but to a fancy dinner, too.  
And..." Hardison began again but this time, Nathan interrupted the young man. "And it would  
be better if we would watch a movie and not just stare at an empty laptop screen, don't you  
think?" Nathan asked and turned to Hardison, who just gaped at him and then at the laptop  
screen. Nathan grinned while Hardison got what he tried to say. Jeff was gone and Jeff had  
been angry while he had looked for them. Hardison had just given him enough bread crumbs  
to find them and this Jeff was, after all, not someone who was stupid. Jeff had left the laptop  
screen, or more precisley his office, about 10 minutes ago. He would only need about half an  
hour to get the Leverage office. Hardison looked at Nathan again, this time with a big grin. "Oh  
yeah, but we really should talk about the script."

"Nathan? Parker, Eliot and I are going to the opera and maybe catch some dinner on the way  
back. Is that okay with you two?" Sophie asked suddenly from the door and Nathan nooded.  
"Yeah sure. Have fun. Which opera?" he asked. Sophie smiled dreamly. "Lucia di Lammermoor."  
she just said and Nathan nodded. "Nice. Good choice. We'll see you later." Nathan said but  
Sophie had already disappeared again. Not a minute later, Hardison and Nathan could hear the  
door. They were alone but both knew that it wouldn't be for very long. Jeff would come and  
that they had to do everything they could to scare him away forever.

He had found him. Well, at least his apartment. To be honest, it wasn't hard to find. It was  
really just directly above an Irish Pub. Not exactly the right environment for his Eliot. There  
was the risk that Eliot could drink too much and that someone would take advantage of him or  
Eliot could accidentally walk into a bar fight. Eliot could get hit on. That would be the worst.  
Not matter which option, he didn't like the result that formed in his head but soon he wouldn't  
have to worry anymore. He would have his Eliot back and after he showed Eliot what he did  
wrong, they could start again. They would move far, far away. Maybe another state, but even  
better would be another country. Australia would be nice. There wasn't that much rain and  
they could move somewhere into the Outback. Then they would have enough time for each  
other and Eliot could grow enough food for them. He would be happy there.

But first, this little piece of shit had to disappear. Nathan. Nathan had ruined everything. If he  
didn‘t exist, then there wouldn't be a single problem. Nathan being dead would be the most  
pleasant scenario. It would already have been enough, if Nathan just hadn't tried to get into  
Eliot's pants. This man had to be taught some manners. Someone shouldn't touch what  
belongs to someone else. You shouldn't even try. Jeff zipped his jacket up and walked towards to the pub. He would get Eliot out of there and they could be alone again. Then everything would be okay. 

She doesn't want to go. Sophie knew it. Eliot knew it, too and now Eliot came with them. Why  
couldn't Sophie just take Eliot to these freaky singing people? Why did she have to come  
along? She couldn't even understand what they were singing or saying. They probably would  
wear strange costumes and she would have to ask about everything every five seconds. Then  
people would get mad at her, Sophie and Eliot. She didn't want to go.

There was this guy across the street. He was watching the pub. At least that's what it looked  
like. Maybe he was trying to look into their office. Maybe it was one of the bad Russian guys  
who had tried to take Eliot but the guy didn't look like a Russian guy. They were always big  
and had funny noses. She had learned that from movies. He didn't look German, either. They  
stood straight, everytime and everywhere. She didn't want to be a German. She didn't think  
that she could stand straight that long. Maybe that creepy guy was from the CIA or maybe he  
was a bad guy. Again. That was it. "Parker? Are ya coming?", Eliot asked and she had to look  
away from the Russian, German, CIA guy. Maybe he was everything together. "Yep. I'm coming.  
I don't want to be too late to this boring opera thing." she groaned. Eliot smiled and turned  
around with Parker on his trail. The next time she looked the Russian, German, CIA guy he  
went into pub. Well, maybe he was just someone that wanted one of those Irish beers. They  
tasted slightly different but a bit better than their beer, she thought. Maybe, just maybe the guy  
was an old colleague of Nathan's dad. Nathan's dad had been Irish, too.

She did it again and that creeped the shit out of him. Parker just stared into the darkness as if  
she would see something. Almost as if she was watching someone. Maybe she saw something  
or someone only she could see, but no matter, it always unsettled Eliot. Sometimes it seemed  
like Parker would know everything about someone if she would stare at them and now she did  
it to the darkness. Creepy. "Parker? Are ya coming?", he asked and Parker turned her head.  
There was that thoughtful frown on her face but then she smiled. "Yep. I'm coming. I don't  
want to be too late to this boring opera thing." she groaned. Eliot smiled and turned around.  
He knew that Parker would follow him. After a few steps she turned around again and so did  
Eliot. For a short time he thought he could see Jeff walking into the pub but a second later, the  
older man wasn't there anymore. It was probably only an illusion. "Honestly? I know you don't  
want to go, but I want to and you both agreed to come with me. So hurry up or we're going to  
be late. Well, later than we already are." Sophie suddenly said impatiently next to him. Well,  
everything was okay. He doesn't have a reason to worry. Everything was fine. Well, except  
there was the Opera. He hated opera.

"He just went into the bar." Hardsion said nervously. Yes, he wanted to let Jeff disappear from  
Eliot's and well, their life but the guy was a cop. A freaking fucking cop. He knew how to kill  
them without leaving a trace. Nathan just nodded and gulped his whiskey down. They spoke  
about it. That only Nathan would talk to him. That Hardison would wait in his office. It was  
better that way. He wasn't hiding, but who knew what that creepy bastard could or would do if  
he was pissed?! Then there was a knock on the door. A fucking knock! The guy probably  
wanted to kill them and he knocked! Nathan looked to Hardison and nodded while he filled  
two glasses with whiskey. Hardison swallowed and went to his office. Well, maybe, just maybe,  
he was hiding but he would rather die before telling anyone. That was the most logical  
decision. That man could beat Eliot to a bloody pulp, after all. Hardion stopped breathing  
when he heard that Nathan opened the door. "Good evening, Mr. O'Keanen." Nathan said and  
an ice cold shiver ran down his spine. It wasn't Nathan's normal voice. It was his 'I-will-do-everything-to-you-so-that-you-would-wish-you-were-dead'-voice. Even Sophie was afraid of  
that voice. "Who the fuck are you?"

Nathan took a deep breath and went to the door. He wanted to kill the bastard but he knew that he had to try it with a talk at first. He was not a murderer. He would give that disgusting  
bastard a chance. He opened the door. "Good evening, Mr. O'Keanen." he said and was almost  
surprised by the fact that the man in front of him wasn't a monster with horns, but just some  
normal guy, with a handsome face and a nice body. He was tall. Taller than Nathan. He was  
probably something around 6'3“ and he was a cop. Well, that was going to be a nice evening.  
He just hoped that he handled his surprise better than the taller man. "Who the fuck are you“?  
Jeff said, more than confused. A small, evil smile formed on Nate‘s face. The scum hadn't even  
known who he was. He had obviously expected Hardison if you could go by the look on his  
face. "My name is Nathan Ford. Come in. I think we have to talk." Nathan said and stepped to  
the side. Still confused, Jeffrey came in. Nathan pointed to the chairs. "Take a seat." That was it.  
It was going to happen. And there was no way back out. Well, fuck.


	3. Chapter 3

Confused, Jeff took a seat. It wasn’t the black man from earlier that had opened the door, but  
an older, white man. That was the first thing that had surprised Jeff. It had thrown him off, to  
be honest. The second thing was that the man knew his name. Then there was the face when  
this guy offered him a seat. Nathan Ford. That was his name. At least he had told Jeff that but  
why would the lie? He had no reason to do so bBut if this was Nathan, who had been the guy at  
the store earlier. The older man took a seat on the opposite chair and pointed to a second  
whiskey glass before taking his own. Jeff wanted to hit the liquid back without a second  
thought but he wouldn't. It didn't matter who Nathan Ford was. "I'm not here to be nice." Jeff  
began and the guy had the balls to draw an eyebrow up but he didn't say anything. "I am going  
to take Eliot home with me and then we are going to leave this country where he can have a  
peaceful life without you or your 'colleagues' poisoning him." Jeff stated and hated the fact that  
the guy didn't even flinch. He even looked amused. "Me? Poisoning him? How could that be  
possible? What do you think makes more damage? Someone who tries to make a person laugh  
or someone a tries to break a person by beating them into a bloody pulp, chaining them to bed  
and leaving them there for days by themselves? To your first statement,no, you are not going  
to take him away." the guy just said calmly and that calmess made Jeff angry. That and the fact  
that he obiously didn't understand Jeff's and Eliot's relationship. "You make it sound like I'm  
doing something bad, Mr. Ford but I’m not. I'm teaching Eliot to be better. He's... well, he's quite  
a challenge you could say but he has more potential than you could ever think to know. You  
wouldn't know what to do with him. I do. He's mine, after all and Eliot knows that. Sometimes  
he just doesn't act like it. So it would be really nice of you if you could tell me where Eliot is."  
Jeff said as calmly as possible and grinned when he saw a strange look on the older man's face.  
He was confused. Maybe even angry. Well, he was just some stupid old man. But then Nathan leaned forward and there was something different in his eyes, something cold and dark. "Now you're going to listen to me, you worthless piece of shit. Eliot doesn't belong to anyone but himself. Not to me and definitly not to you. You can not own another human being. I'm just saying this once. Eliot will stay here with his family. He will not come with you and if you ever, ever lay a finger on Eliot or even think of laying a finger of him or my team, I'm going to find you and I'm going to make you wish you were never born. I will take everything you have. Your pride, your friends, your rank at your department, everything. Everyone will know that you're not some kind of hero but just a worthless asshole that can't control himself. Eliot will stay here, he will get better and maybe, just maybe someday he can sleep again without nightmares from you and your beating. What you call teaching. I think you are a intelligent man, Jeffrey. Try something funny and I will end you." Nathan threatened and there Jeff lost it. Who was this little fucker to think that highly of himself? To think that he could threaten him, Jeffery O'Keanen?

The next thing Nathan knew was the stinging pain in his face. Well, to be more precisley, on his  
chin and only then it occured him that Jeffrey had hit him but by the time he knew that, he  
already was on the ground and the taller man stood over him. "I don't think you can ever  
handle someone like Eliot, so why try?" Jeff asked with another punch. Nathan coughed and  
tasted blood. Great. He had seen on Eliot that the man wouldn't stop so it surprised him even  
more when nothing came. Not a hit, not a kick. Nothing. "Hey man, move slowly and now you  
are going to go to the door and then you are going to disappear. Understood?" Hardison asked  
and where the did the gun come from? Jeffrey just laughed and went to the door. After he  
opened it, he turned around again. "What makes you think Eliot would even want to be with  
you? An old man, more drunk than anything else who can't fight for himself and a pussy that  
can only fight with a gun. He will come back. Eliot know who he belongs to." The door closed,  
but Nathan and Hardison could hear the man laugh. It wasn't a really pleasant laugh.

Something was odd when they came back to Nathan's apartment. Sophie couldn't really put a  
finger on it but there was something. Everything was as tidy as always. Hardison was playing  
some video game and Nathan wasn't in the living room. Maybe he already went to sleep but  
there was something else. "Is everything over? Can I sleep now?" Parker asked grumpy. She  
really hadn't liked the opera and then at some point she had annoyed all the people around  
them with her questions. Then one elderly woman had asked if Parker was retarded. Just plain  
and simple like that and Eliot had called the woman names Sophie never had heard before.  
They went before even the third act had started. She wasn't mad at Parker or at Eliot but she  
just couldn't understand why they couldn't enjoy such nice, cultivated things like opera. "Yeah,  
it's over. We can go to bed." Eliot said and followed Parker. He was still angry about the comment the woman had made. Then it hit Sophie like a truck what was off. There were two  
whiskey glasses, one half filled and the other empty. Nathan just used one. He rarely took a  
second whiskey glass and if he did, it would be empty after five seconds. "Hardison? where is  
Nathan?" she asked and there was tension in Hardison‘s shoulders. Guilty tension. "Ahm... I  
don't know?" the young man tried but Sophie just continued to look at him until Hardison  
looked away. "In his bathroom upstairs." the young man mumbled and she smiled gratefully.  
She wanted to know what had happened and she would get to know it. Nathan couldn't avoid  
her forever. Well, he certainly could try. But she would just wait in Nathan's bedroom. He had  
to go there after all to sleep.

It wasn't often that someone scared Nathan almost to death. It was just something that didn't  
happen. Parker had tried it a few times but she gave it up after she noticed that Nathan just  
didn't jumped as funny as Hardison did or that Nathan wouldn't threat her like Eliot did.  
But now, Nathan openly admited that Sophie scared him to death with her shear presence  
after he got out of his bathroom. „What the hell are you doing here?“ he asked and hoped that  
Sophie couldn’t hear him. Her smile told him otherwise. „Well, there were two whiskey glasses  
on the table and there is a bruise forming on your chin, my dear. I think the question should be  
'What happened?', don't you think?“ Sophie smiled sweetly at him but there was steel in her  
eyes. She wanted to know what had happened and she would only go after she got everything  
she wanted to know and more. That was just the way Sophie Deveraux was. „And don't come  
me with lies. I know you had a guest.“ Nathan sighed and closed his bedroom door. The last hing he needed was Parker overhearing them or even worse, Eliot overhearing them.  
„Well, yeah. Hardison and me, we had a... well, not a guest, more like a visitor. Eliot's exboyfriend. He figured out where Eliot went after the incident at the groccery store. Hardison  
found out that the man is a cop. Maybe he just used the security feed around the store, I don't  
know. He turned up and I told him that he would never get Eliot back and he just lost it and hit  
me.“ Nathan explained, leaving out some details. Sophie knew that but didn't push it. „Why did  
he go?“ she just asked. Nathan sighed and tried to grin. „Suddenly Hardison was there with a  
gun in his hand. I don't know where he got it from but Jeffrey decided it would be a good time  
to leave.“ Nathan said and then he sat down on the bed. „The man is dangerous, Sophie and he  
is going to take Eliot away from us.“ he mumbled and felt just... well, old. Sophie sighed andsat  
next to him. „You mean you are afraid that Jeffrey will take Eliot from you.“ she stated and  
Nathan would lie if he would say he was surprised. He didn't say anything, it wasn't necessary.  
He just nodded. „Good.“ she murmured and stood up. „Sleep. I‘ll think of a way we can get rid  
of him. We always find a way.“

„Good.“ Sophie murmured and stood up. „Sleep while I think of a way we can get rid of him. We  
always find a way.“ Nathan took a deep breath and let himself fall on the bed. He still wasn't  
conviced, she could see that. Nathan always thought that no one could read him just because  
he could read them like books but she's a grifter and a damn fine one, too. She didn't need to  
read Nathan, he was like an audio book for her. He just told her everything she needed to  
know. „I should...“ Nathan began but Sophie stopped him before he could even try to even  
speak further. „No, you shouldn't.“ she just stated. „You're good when it comes to logic. You can  
break them so well that they give you everything but they give me their fortune, their house  
and everything they own just because I ask them. I will think of something. We won't get far  
with violence. At least not here and Jeff is a cop, right? He would just arrest you and that  
wouldn't help Eliot, would it?“ Nathan groaned while waving her off and she knew that she  
had won. Nathan hated it admit it but Sophie knew that Nathan knew that she was right. „Stop  
your smug grin.“ he said with a smile in his voice and yawned.

That smug little bastard. He had stolen his Eliot from him! He probably had told lies about  
him! And Eliot, naive, stupid Eliot had believed that fucker. Jeff screamed and smashed his  
glass against the wall. He would break that bastard and he would get his Eliot back. Either Jeff  
could have Eliot or no one could have him and it would suit Eliot better to come back. After all,  
Jeff was way better than this creepy guy Nathan could ever be. That fucker was even older  
than Eliot, older than Jeff. Probably around 50 years old. What the fuck did Eliot want with  
such an old 'boyfriend'? That scum just took advantage of his sweet, stupid Eliot. Oh, but he  
would show them. He was the better choice for Eliot and Eliot would see it, too. Jeff just had to  
show him. He would show Eliot that this Nathan just wanted a pretty face. That he would  
trade Eliot every time if there was someone sweeter, younger Nathan could have. Maybe that  
Parker girl. The blonde one. Eliot had often told him about her. She was pretty, after all. Maybe  
a bit crazy if everything was true Eliot had told him but Jeff didn't doubt it. Eliot had never lied  
to him in the beginning. Jeff couldn't just blame Nathan for every problem though. Jeff himself  
had made a mistake. He should have forbidden Eliot to continue working with these people  
after it became clear how much the young man had cared for them. Jeff should be the most  
important human in Eliot's life but there was always Eliot's colleagues and they had been a  
bad influence on his Eliot. But he would show him how much less they cared for Eliot when  
they had to choose between this Parker and Eliot. Eliot would see it and then Eliot would  
know that Jeff was the only one who really cared.

Groaning, Hardison woke up but didn't know what woke him. Then, there it was again. Some  
strange, creepy sound from the room next to his. Parker’s room. With another groan Hardison  
put his head under the pillow and just hoped Parker hadn't glued the furniture to the walls,  
again.

Strange smell. Not food or wood or perfume. It smelled... wet, like water but old water. It  
smelled musty and it was cold. So much colder than in her room and there weren't the usual  
noises she could hear when she woke up at night. Not Hardison's mumbling about numbers.  
Not Sophie's slight snoring that she always denied. Not Nathan's movements because Nathan  
couldn't sleep that well these days. Not Eliot's pacing or doing something strange or reading.  
Not the low creaking of the hammock Eliot had made for her. It was almost quiet and every  
sound that came to her was somewhat muffled. These were the first things Parker noticed the  
second she woke up. The second thing was that her hands were bound with tape and her feet  
were tied, too. Panic stricken she opened her eyes. It was dark but not pitch black, just dark.  
More summer night dark and there was someone standing on the opposite wall. "Good morning, Miss Parker. I'm glad that you are awake. Shall we begin, then?" a creepy voice  
asked and then there were goosebumps all over her body. Then there was something else she noticed. She was naked. Well, that was probably the reason why she was so cold.

"Wake up everyone!" Eliot roared and Nathan sat straight like a newly bought candle. "What  
the hell?" he cursed and sprang out of bed. It was 6 a.m. "I hope you have a damn good reason  
to wake me up at this ungodly hour." Hardison said with more than irritation in his voice. The  
young man looked similar to him but only in his boxers. Sophie came out of her room in just a  
night gown. Eliot was the only one who was fully dressed. "Parker. She's gone. Someone broke  
into her room. Targeted her. Nothing’s missing." Eliot growled and stood suddenly right before  
Nathan. "What are ya keeping from me?"

Nathan swallowed and looked into the young man’s eyes. Anger. Nothing but anger. There  
were no bruises left on Eliot or bloody scars. Eliot looked almost like he did the day Nathan  
met him. Dangerous but then it has been just a job for Eliot. Today, someone took one the most  
important people from the young hitter. "What makes you think that we're keeping something  
from you?" Sophie asked and Nathan just knew that it had been the worst move she could  
have done. Eliot wasn't stupid.

The young man’s hand disappeared into his trousers and appeared again with a piece of paper.  
Something was written on it. "Ya know what I want. Bring it and you get your play toy back in  
one piece." Eliot read and Nathan had the urge to scream. The note was handwritten and  
Nathan had no doubt that Eliot knew how Jeffrey’s handwriting looked. Eliot crumpled the note and let it fall to the ground before he turned around. "I'm going to kill him if he hurt her." Nathan heard the young man mumble. "Eliot, wait!" Sophie asked and to her surprise Eliot stopped. "Where are you going all alone, bro?" Hardison asked and Eliot looked up like he thought that Hardison was the most stupid person on earth in this moment. "I'm going to get Parker. I know where he is." Eliot said and then walked away again. "The warehouse." Nathan whispered and Hardison nodded. Sophie looked incredulous first at him than at Hardison but didn't say anything. "Well, I suggest that we get dressed and then go after Eliot. Shall we?" Sophie said with an almost visible strain to her voice before she disappeared into her bedroom again.

Eliot had the feeling that the steering wheel was deformed. He knew it. He gripped it too hard  
but he was angry as hell. At Nathan, at Jeffrey, at himself. Probably at everyone. Why hadn't  
Nathan said that Jeffrey had been at the apartment. Jeffrey was a cop. He knew how to get into  
a room without much notice from others. Now he had Parker. Sweet, innocent Parker. Who had  
thought that some creepy government had kidnapped him. Who never even once had lost a  
thought on the possibility that Eliot wouldn't be there for her one day to make her pancakes.  
She trusted him and he was not going to disappoint her and her trust. Eliot knew the chance that he would Nathan ever see again was slim to none. Just like he would never see Hardison again or Sophie but Parker would be safe. She would smile at him like he could build the tallest skyscraper just for her to jump from and this one, small moment would be worth the hell that would follow.

Hurt.

Her head hurt. Well, it wasn't something surprising. The creepy man had turned on the lights.  
Too bright, too white. She was much colder than before probably because of the head wound.  
Another reason why her head hurt. She didn't like it when her head was hurting.  
The creepy man, Jeffrey, he had called himself had said that he knew Eliot. It was probably  
true. Eliot was dangerous. She knew that the others thought that she didn't know that Eliot  
was dangerous but that wasn't true. She knew it and she knew that he had killed and tortured  
and that he would do it again without a second thought if he thought that it was necessary.  
Sophie didn't believe that. Sophie thought that Eliot had turned into a teddy bear but that  
wasn't true. He was like one of these magician’s tigers. He loved to be petted but he could still  
kill the person petting him with one paw if he wanted to. She knew that and this man wouldn’t  
hesitate to hurt her, to torture her. He was almost like Eliot. That was the reason why she  
believed that creepy Jeffrey man when he told her that he knew Eliot.  
She still didn't know why she was naked, though.

"It depends on Nathan how long you're going to be here but maximum two days, my dear." the  
creepy man suddenly said and she snorted. He sounded weird. His voice was weird.  
"And then? Are you going to kill me?" she asked smiling. Hardison once told her that her smile  
was creepy and cute at the same time. Nathan said that it made her look insane.  
The Jeffrey guy smiled. "Yeah. I think so" he answered and leaned forward. His cold eyes  
looking into hers. "but why aren't you afraid?" he growled and Parker giggled. "Well, that’s  
obvious, you dummy. Nathan is going to get me, Hardison will break all your software you may  
have, Sophie will trick you and then Eliot’s going to hurt you." Now the man was laughing. "If  
you think so, my dear." She scowled. She hated it when someone thought she was stupid. She wasn't and hated the look the man got when she told him that Eliot would hurt him.  
She looked up to the ceiling and didn't move a muscle when she heard a car pulling up not far  
from wherever she was.

The girl smiled a creepy smile but it suited her. It made her look beautiful. Jeff could see the  
appeal she held but she could never compare to Eliot. Eliot with his shy smile and adoring  
glances. But there was something else that was suspicious or just plain stupid. There was no  
fear in the girl’s eyes. No matter what he did, it didn't really seeme to hurt her. Oh yes, she bled  
but she still laughed and giggled and even though she was naked, she obviously wasn't afraid  
that he was going to touch her. Strange girl. Suddenly, there was a loud banging on the door. "Jeffrey!" the deep, sweet voice almost hollered. Eliot was here. Eliot had been here once. For an illegal poker match one of Jeffrey’s friends had organized. It wasn't the best neighborhood and no one would look twice if they heard a shot ringing through the night. Officially, Jeffrey used the small warehouse for old stuff he didn't really needed anymore. 

Eliot took a deep breath and went to the warehouse itself. There was the distinct sound of screeching wheels. Nathan and the others had followed him. Great. After another deep breath Eliot knocked as hard as he could against the door. Steel. Cold. "Jeffrey" he barked as loud as he could and almost instantly he heard footsteps. Eliot swallowed. He was afraid, for Parker, for himself but there was no time for second thoughts. With a loud squeaking noise the door opened and Eliot saw Jeff for the second time in two days. Not four weeks before he would have done everything for that. Now he just wanted to puke. "Eliot. You made me wait." Eliot growled and pushed past Jeff. Parker. Eliot had to see her. He had to see if she was alive. If she felt fine. If she was fine.

Scowling, Jeff turned to Eliot and closed the door. Eliot hadn't acknowledged him or even  
looked at him twice. Jeff didn’t like it. Angry, he grabbed Eliot's should and turned him around  
to face Jeff. There was something Eliot’s eyes, something alien. Coldness. Anger. "What do you  
think are you doing, you little piece of shit?" Jeffrey hissed but Eliot didn't even flinch. He just  
shrugged Jeffrey’s hand off. "Where is Parker? I want to see her." the younger man said cold as  
ice.

"Where is Parker? I want to see her." Eliot said almost breathless and hoped he didn't sound as  
nervous as he felt. A fist connected with his jaw but he didn't fall down. He just stumbled a bit.  
"Show more respect Eliot but well, as you are coming with me after that..." Jeff trailed off and  
Eliot had contain himself from screaming. The older man led Eliot to a small room. A dark one.  
It smelled like mold. There was the sound of Jeff turning on the light and an electrical buzz.  
Eliot had heard it in various countries. It was always the same and it was even somewhat  
smoothing. He had survived worse situations than this. And there, in the middle of the room  
was Parker. She was bound to a chair, hands and ankles taped. No rope. It was too easy to get  
out of rope. Jeff knew that. Parker was bleeding. A head wound, a cracked lip, some dried  
blood that came surely from her nose. Other bruises all over her body and she was naked.  
White anger rushed through Eliot. Parker grinned at him like he was Santa Claus. "Eliot! I  
knew you were coming. I'm cold. Can we go home now?" she asked and Eliot just walked over  
to her feeling numb. She was bleeding. His little, beautiful broken star was bleeding. He tried  
to smile but he could see on Parker’s confused face that it didn't work. Eliot had to check her.  
He had to see if she was more hurt than someone could see from the outside. "Enough now!" Jeff suddenly exclaimed and grabbed his shoulder again.

She had known that Eliot would come for her and she had known that this creepy Jeff guy  
wouldn't be exactly pleased but Eliot would make it better. She wanted his jacket. It was still  
too cold but there was something strange in his eyes, something she didn't know if she got it  
right. She tipped her head to the side and looked at Eliot. Maybe hurt. Eliot tried to smile but it  
seemed forced. Suddenly the creepy man stood behind Eliot and grabbed his shoulder."Enough now!" he said and tried to turn Eliot around. "We're going now. Your colleagues will find her." the Jeff guy said and suddenly there was something even stranger in her tummy. Fear. She wanted Eliot to stay with her. "Please don't go." she whispered. Eliot had never left her. He couldn't leave now. Eliot shrugged the hand on his shoulder off and nodded but before he could say anything else the Jeff guy tried to turn Eliot around again. She grinned happily when she heard the sound of breaking bones when Eliot hit Jeff. Probably the nose. Jeff was shocked, she could see that and then he looked angry. Really angry. "You stupid slut!" Jeff hissed and Parker could see Eliot swallow. "Ya hurt her. Ya hurt Parker. No ones hurts Parker." he growled with a deep voice, his accent thick. He only gets like this when he's really angry or tired but Parker doubted that Eliot was tired. Then Jeff guy hit Eliot but not in the face. He hit Eliot in the stomach. It had to hurt. Eliot coughed.

The blow into the stomach had hurt and had knocked all the air out of his lungs but he  
couldn't give up. That bastard had hurt Parker. He had to get Parker out of here. "What is it  
Eliot? Already tired? Yeah, I can see it. Nothing special. Come with me and I'm going to teach  
you a few things but next time, we're going to make it right. The working is too much stress for  
you, don't you think?" Jeff grinned madly at him and Eliot just lost it.

Blood. That was the first thing his brain registered when Nathan stormed into the room. Next  
to him, Sophie gasped and Hardison turned his back and emptied his stomach. There was so  
much blood. Panic stricken, Nathan looked around. Parker. There was Parker leaning against  
the wall, naked expect from Eliot's leather jacket. A body, lying maybe five or six feet away  
from them with bloody face. More blood than face. And there was a person lying next to Parker  
head on her lap. Body soaked in blood, long hair matted to the head with dried blood. "Eliot."  
Sophie whispered and Parker looked up. "Finally. I thought I had to drag him out of this hole  
all alone." she said grumpy. Nathan threw a quick look over to the other body. Jeffrey. The  
slightest rise and fall of his chest told Nathan that Jeff was still alive. "I'm... I'm gonna call the  
cops, Nate." Hardison croaked, throat still sore from puking out his guts. Nathan just nodded.  
He had to get them out of here before the police would come and take them with them before  
they could arrest Eliot. "Sophie, help me." he said and went over to Eliot. The most disturbing  
thing in the whole scene was still the satisfied smile on Parkers face.

The first thing Eliot could fully comprehend in his brain was that he was sitting on something  
soft. A couch. Nathan’s couch. There was blood on his hands. So much blood. He felt fine. Not  
his blood then. Parker. He had wanted to save Parker. Jeff had tried to stop him. It was Jeff’s  
blood then. His head felt fuzzy. Maybe he should lie back. He probably had a concussion.  
The next time he woke up to the too loud TV and a crumbling noise. It was already bright  
outside, probably around noon. Parker was sitting next to him, eating Froot Loops. "Morning. I  
want pancakes tomorrow. The usual." she said and smiled at him. He was thankful that she  
didn't say anything about the previous night. His beautiful, broken star. "Is he..?" he tried to  
ask but his throat was dry. Parker just pointed to the TV. The news was on. "... found the  
unconscious body of police officer Jeffrey O'Keanen. He was badly beaten and had to be  
brought to the hospital. A file was found next to him containing evidence of various crimes the  
police officer committed. More on the late night news." the reporter said and then Parker  
turned the TV off before she disappeared into the kitchen. Then Nathan took her place a glass  
filled with water in his hand. Grateful, Eliot took it and drained it in one go. Nathan looked  
concerned. "I'm fine." Eliot said but both of them knew that it wasn't true. Nathan sighed and  
turned the TV back on. "No but you will be." the older man said with a smile. Eliot nodded,  
closed his eyes and took a deep breath.

"Do ya still want to go out with me? I know a damn fine restaurant."


End file.
